ae 
TUBERCULOSIS IN CATTLE. yy 
It is quite a confident expectation on the part of European 
scientists that the method as outlined here and as is now being 
slowly adopted, is practical, and is destined to be successful. 
The European agriculturists and bacteriologists are promis- 
ing to the farmers that if they will only adopt this method and 
carefully follow it up, they may expect the practical disappear- 
ance of tuberculosis among their herds inside of ten or fifteen 
years. That the disease will absolutely disappear is not ex- 
pected, but it is a confident belief that by the use of the method 
as suggested by Prof. Bang it can be in a comparatively few 
years so reduced in amount that it will not be a menace to agri- 
culture. The significant point in regard to the whole is that 
this reduction in the tuberculosis can be accomplished with a 
very small expense to the State for veterinary services, and 
with practically no expense to the farmer beyond that of divid- 
ing his cattle into two herds and keeping them isolated from 
each other. It is evident that this method of Prof. Bang is 
more readily applicable to a large herd than a small one. A 
farmer who owns only two or three cows has a very different 
problem from one with a large herd. He is less likely to have 
the disease in these animals and may probably deal with it 
better by slaughter than an attempt to isolate a single cow. 
USE OF ANIMALS REACTING WITH TUBERCULIN. 
Meantime, the question arises as to how the animals in 
reacting herds shall be treated, whether their milk can be used 
and whether they can be slaughtered for food as can the ani- 
mals in the untainted herd. 
The answer to this so far as concerns the use of the flesh of 
these animals is very simple, although it may demand certain 
new regulations at least in most parts of our own country. As 
we have already seen, there is no reason for rejecting the use 
of the flesh of an animal that is suffering from an incipient case 
of tuberculosis. With a proper inspection it is perfectly clear 
in the light of the evidence that has accumulated in the last 
five years, that the flesh of animals in the reacting herd may 
be sold and eaten. If it is to be thus sold, however, there is 
needed a certain amount of inspection of slaughtered animals. 
This requires that the flesh be slaughtered in public slaughter- 
houses or at all events under the direction of public inspectors. 
To what an extent this is possible in different states of our 
country is not a question to be answered at this place, but in 
